Ruskin College's cultural legacy at risk

As historians and educationists, we have opposed the closure of libraries and local museums, and rejected the government's message that the cultural legacies of the past are luxuries we cannot afford. In this context, we are surprised to learn of recent actions by the management and governors of Ruskin College, Oxford, a labour movement institution that has contributed enormously to the understanding of ordinary and hidden pasts. Although some signatories have already been in correspondence on this, concerns continue.

In the course of a move to new premises, with a smaller library, the college's management has ordered the destruction of large sections of the college's archive, dating back to the early 20th century. Some records – relating for instance to the trade unionists admitted as students to the college – have already been disposed of. Despite an offer from another institution to house them, they have been shredded. Other material, including pamphlets and ephemera, is also threatened with oblivion. We call on Ruskin's management to halt this process of over-hasty disposal, and immediately to discuss with other institutions the relocation of what remains of the archive. We are hopeful that if this issue is given further consideration, it will be seen that its archives are as relevant to Ruskin's future as to its past.Prof Ken Jones Goldsmiths, University of London, Prof Marj MayoGoldsmiths, University of London, Prof Jonathan RoseDrew University, Madison, New Jersey, US,Prof Barbara TaylorQueen Mary, University of London,Prof emeritus Jane Miller Institute of Education, University of London, Prof Debbie EpsteinCardiff University, Prof emeritus James HintonUniversity of Warwick, Prof Monica McLeanNottingham University, Dr John YandellInstitute of Education, University of London, Prof emeritus Mica NavaUniversity of East London, Dr Pete WatermanInstitute of Social Studies, The Hague, Prof Pat ThomsonNottingham University, Alison LightVisiting Prof, Newcastle University, Prof Susan BruceKeele University

• Wendy Davis (Letters, 2 October) writes in relation to the fate of the Women's Library: "We do not imagine LSE will harm the unique collections, just as the British Museum has cared for the Elgin marbles." The irony of her comment, conscious or not, is an interesting one. We can only hope that, if this move goes ahead, the LSE will indeed display better "care" than that given to the Parthenon marbles by the British Museum in 1937-8, when, in preparation for Lord Duveen's new gallery to display them, they were scrubbed with wire brushes!

One can also only hope that the LSE's acquisition of the Women's Library collection is founded on a sounder legal basis than that of Lord Elgin's firman from the Ottoman Turkish bey.Tim Bennett-GoodmanLondon